 |
| |
|
Delhi triumphant in rain truncated encounter
|
Zeecric Bureau/Pratik Dogra
Cape Town, April 18: Delhi Daredevils made a winning start to their Indian Premier League campaign, beating Kings XI Punjab by 10 wickets here on Sunday.
In a match that saw numerous rain interruptions, Delhi Daredevils were given a revised target off 54 runs from 6 overs, which they duly overhauled in just 4.5 overs without losing any wickets.
Gautam Gambhir made 16 from 13 balls (2 fours), while Sehwag was at his usual belligerent best, scoring 38 runs off 16 balls (4 fours and 3 sixes).
Earlier, chasing 105 runs for victory from 12 overs, Delhi Daredevils had notched of 24 off those runs in 1.5 overs when heavy down pour brought a halt to the proceedings.
A minimum of 5 overs have to be played out before D/L method can come into play.
Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab had only themselves to blame for their crushing defeat.
The team from Punjab, failed to capitalise on a rollicking start provided by their openers, mustering only 104 runs for 7 wickets in their allotted 12 overs.
Put into bat by Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag in a match curtailed to just 12 overs a side, Kings XI Punjab had made a flying start with their opening batsmen Karan Goel and Ravi Bopara coming out all guns blazing.
Their adventurous approach with the bat saw them swizzle past the 50 run-mark in just the 5th over.
Delhi got a breakthrough when Goel fell for a whirlwind 38 run knock off just 21 balls. He hit 3 fours and 3 sixes.
When the first strategy break was taken after 6 overs, Punjab was 67/1.
The break probably resulted in a lapse of concentration for Bopara who fell off the very first ball when play resumed. The English all-rounder was trapped plumb by Daniel Vettori with his maiden delivery in IPL-II for 22 runs of 16 balls.
Pressure of quick runs consumed Kumara Sangakkara (8 runs off 11 balls) as well, when the Lankan scooped up a simple catch off Daniel Vettori.
The top-order collapse helped Delhi Daredevils wrest back the initiative from Punjab, who slumped from 67/0 in the sixth over to 78/3 after 9 overs.
Punjab`s aspiration of mounting a massive score suffered further setbacks in the 11th over of the innings when captain Yuvraj Singh, Mahela Jayawardene and Piyush Chawla fell within space of 4 deliveries without a run being scored.
In a tragic sequence of events for the Punjab team, first Yuvraj (16 runs off 11 balls) was run-out going for a non-existent single. Yuvraj, having slammed 2 sixes, was beginning to look ominous until he fell. Two balls later, Jayawardene, who was responsible for Yuvraj`s dismissal, fell, holing out a catch in the deep. The next delivery saw Chawla make a beeline for the pavilion after offering a casual attempt to complete a run as team`s co-owner Preity Zinta watched from the stands in helplessness.
For Delhi, Vettori was the pick of the bowlers, picking 3/15 from 3 overs. Building up on successes of other tweakers Shane Warne (2/18) and Anil Kumble (5/5), Vettori bowled a tight spell in the middle overs to maintain a leash on Punjab`s batsmen.
The third match of the IPL Season-II had a delayed start due to a wet out-field after Cape Town witnessed constant drizzle.
However, just as the match was about to commence, it started to rain again and covers had to be called again. After the play resumed, it was eventually restricted from 14 overs initially, to just 12 overs.
Teams:
Delhi Daredevils: V Sehwag, TM Dilshan, G Gambhir, AB de Villiers, MK Tiwary, KD Karthik, DP Nannes, DL Vettori, VY Mahesh, AM Salvi, P Sangwan
Kings XI Punjab: RS Bopara, KC Sangakkara, DPMD Jayawardene, Yuvraj Singh, K Goel, T Kohli, IK Pathan, VS Malik, PP Chawla, VRV Singh, YA Abdulla
|
| |
|
 |
